I'll be there
by MissKath90
Summary: She couldn't stop looking at him, since she had recovered him from the claws of the Dark Lord, she felt unable to be apart from him and had to admit that part of her was afraid he would disappear if she moved from his side. And Sabrina wouldn't let anyone or anything separate him from her again. Never.


**I'll be there**

In the semidarkness of her room, Sabrina watched him sleep.

She couldn't stop looking at him, since she had recovered him from the claws of the Dark Lord, she felt unable to be apart from him and had to admit that part of her was afraid he would disappear if she moved from his side. Sabrina wouldn't let anyone or anything separate him from her again.

Never.

She had gone to Hell for him and would do it again. A thousand times if it was necessary.

Sabrina looked at Nick, his dark hair a bit longer than his usual style, his handsome face, his strong arms, he seemed unharmed. At least in the outside, she didn't know what kind of wounds he could have in the inside. He had managed to finally get back to sleep but she couldn't. She needed to stay awake and guard his sleep, being there if another nightmare attacked him.

_What kind of horrors he lived down there?_ She didn't know if it was good or bad to talk about what had happened to him, she didn't even know if he wanted to talk about it at all and was afraid to ask.

She could say his sleep was a restless one, she could notice how his eyes moved under his eyelids, she could hear the faint groans that escaped from his lips.

And she saw the exact moment when another of his nightmare began. She could tell by the way his entire body tensed before he started trembling. His groans became louder.

"Nick, Nick, wake up" she shook him gently as she spoke to him "Nick, wake up"

He opened his eyes startled, unsure of where he was, it was hard to look in the dark. When he saw her his body relaxed a bit.

"Sabrina...?" he said her name like a question.

"Shh..." she muttered, gently stroking his hair "Everything's fine, Nick. You're here, with me. Everything's fine…"

He hugged her so tightly that his grip was almost painful. But she didn't complain, she was willing to give him what he needed from her. Nick hid his face in her neck, his arms still holding her tightly as if he was afraid she could disappear at any moment.

"Shh… I'm here, I'm here…" she kept telling him, trying to soothe him with her words, with her hands.

Nick turned slightly away from her, Sabrina could see the terror in his eyes and wanted to be able to erase it but she didn't know how.

"You want to talk...?" she asked tentatively.

He remained silent and she didn't push him, if he wanted to speak he would do it when he felt ready, meanwhile she would stay there, holding him in her arms comforting him. After what seemed like hours he finally spoke although he was unable to look her in the eyes.

"It was horrible" he told her but didn't add anything else and for a few minutes he stayed silent again, his gaze lost in the distance "I still think that all this is just a dream"

Sabrina stroked one of his cheeks compelling him to look at her. There were so many things she wanted to tell him but she didn't know how to start.

"It's not a dream" she said "You're here with me, and I'll never let you go again" Sabrina smiled at him "I promise you"

He nodded but she could still perceive the doubt in him. She leaned down to give him a short kiss on the lips.

"And when you feel ready, I'll be here to listen to you" she added.

He hugged her again, she could feel despair in the way he held her. Sabrina continued to hold him, stroking his hair and whispering comforting words into his ear.

She let him cry until he felt sleep again.

And he let her comfort him through the night.

Nick was the first to wake up.

He slowly separated from her trying not to wake her. He looked at her, her face so relaxed in her sleep that he felt a bit of envy, he wished he could sleep as she did. He shook his head trying to remove those thoughts from his mind. She turned slightly in her sleep and a strand of her hair fell on her face, she wrinkled her nose uncomfortable, Nick moved slowly and put her hair behind her ear, he caressed her cheek gently and she leaned to his touch. It was still hard for him to believe he was with her again.

That this wasn't a dream. That she was real.

This _was_ real.

Sabrina. She had been the reason why he resisted all that time in Hell. But he wasn't completely free from Hell, maybe he would never be. Nick couldn't escape from the horrors he had lived there and the mere idea of living trapped in the memories of what he had suffered there terrified him.

He wanted to forget. He really wanted to forget.

If only it were as simple as wishing.

"Nick..." Sabrina murmured with a sleepy voice, her warm body moved even closer to him.

He liked it, he liked her warmth. It made him feel... at home. Even though he had never known a true home before. He had always considered the Academy to be his home but it wasn't until he met her that he discovered what the word really meant.

Nick smiled at her and the smile she returned was so bright that for a moment he thought everything would be fine if she was next to him.

Sabrina approached him and gave him a soft kiss on the lips.

"Good morning"

"Good morning" he replied.

She didn't ask him how he slept and he appreciated it. That was a question he didn't want to answer. They stayed there, lying side by side looking into each other eyes. They didn't need words. Not now.

They were beyond words.

Sabrina liked to be so close to him, she had missed it. The closeness. The warmth. Him.

She had missed him as a mad woman. She moved one of her hands slowly across his chest, she couldn't stop touching him. She also needed to feel that he was there.

That this was real.

Nick wanted to kiss her again. He wanted things he couldn't say out loud.

"We should get up" Sabrina said but made no attempt to do so.

He nodded but didn't move either.

"Or… we could stay here" she added.

Even when the idea was tempting he knew he couldn't hide from the world forever.

"What do you want to do today?" Sabrina asked him.

They were leaning on the porch rail after a somewhat awkward breakfast with her family. Her cousin Ambrose was silent through the breakfast but Sabrina's aunts were another story, Hilda had been fluttering around him offering more food than he could eat in his life and Zelda had been asking some not-so-subtle question that embarrassed Sabrina, so when they were finally able to leave the Spellman's kitchen he had breathed relieved.

Nick wanted to tell her that the only thing he wanted was to be like that, next to her, enjoying each other's company after being separated for what seemed like a lifetime to him.

"Whatever you want to do" he replied with a shrug.

Sabrina looked at him with a slight frown. She had thought they could go to the movies, Roz had even mentioned the carnival that had come to town and she thought maybe they could go too, but looking at Nick, she thought maybe it wasn't a very good idea.

She leaned her head against his shoulder.

"Why don't we go for a walk?" she suggested.

He nodded. She took his hand and smiled at him, he did too but the smile didn't reach his eyes.

"I missed this" Sabrina commented as they walked. Nick nodded again, she noticed that as they advanced he became more and more taciturn.

They continued walking in silence until they reached the riverbank, Sabrina conjured up a blanket and spread it next to one of the trees, she sat down and gestured for Nick to join her.

He did so.

The silence between them was starting to become uncomfortable and she didn't like the feeling. Being with Nick had always been easy, but now she felt like walking in eggshells, she didn't know what to do. She had thought that once she managed to relieve him from being the Dark Lord's human prison everything was going to be as it was before, but things didn't seem that easy.

And she didn't know what to do.

Sabrina studied Nick's profile while he was looking at the river as it was the more interesting thing he had ever seen.

"Talk to me, Nick," she asked, he kept staring at the river, his mind thousands of miles away. "You don't need to do this alone"

"You don't want to hear it," he replied quietly "And I don't want to talk about it"

"I want to help you, Nick" she insisted, she tried to take his hand to give more emphasis to his words but he shied away "Nick...?" her voice sounded hurt.

"Maybe I don't want your help"

"Nick..." she could only say his name "Why don't you want to talk to me?"

"So much curiosity causes you?" he snapped. She looked at him divided between surprise and hurt. He had never been this harsh to her.

"It's not that, I..."

"I don't want to talk, Sabrina. I don't want to remember. I just want to forget, but apparently you won't let me do that either..."

"What do you want then?" she asked in a whisper.

"You don't want to know what I want"

"You're wrong, Nick, tell me... what do you need? Let me help you"

He didn't answer. He leaned and kissed her.

It wasn't a kiss like the ones he usually gave her. It wasn't sweet, it wasn't gentle. It was a kiss dyed with despair and darkness and fury. His lips were rough and insistent against hers and his hands held her so tightly that almost hurt her. It was a furious kiss and she didn't know if his fury was directed to her or to himself.

But she let him kiss her anyway, behind all the desperation she could feel Nicholas, he was trapped, trapped in the dark. She tried to match his movements, she let him unload his frustration on her.

Sabrina felt the salty taste of tears on her lips and when she brushed Nick's cheek she felt the wetness of the tears too. He stopped his assault to her mouth and rested his forehead on hers for some seconds. He was crying.

"Sabrina, I… I shouldn't" he began to murmur frantically, he tried to get up to put distance between them but she stopped him.

"Don't" she told him.

"But I hurt you" she shook her head denying "What's wrong with me?" he murmured to himself.

She couldn't stand it anymore.

Sabrina took his face in her hands, forcing him to look her in the eye. He tried to keep his eyes down but her gaze was insistent that he couldn't resist her. when he finally looked up he saw her eyes shining with contained tears. His were full of tears too.

"Look at me, Nick" he did as she asked "I'm here" she reminded him "I'm here, for whatever you need. Just tell me… talk to me"

Nick let out a shaky breath.

"It was horrible, Sabrina," he said with his eyes down again "When I told you that you were the reason that kept me sane... When I said that in part I lied. There were days when your memory wasn't enough"

"Nick..." she wanted to hug him so badly but knew that he need to let everything out if he wanted to start healing.

"It was unbearable. Having to fight to keep control of my own mind… Having to listen to him, trying to convince me to set him free, telling me with his hideous voice what he was going to do to you once he was free and I were worthless… Unable to contain him" he was trembling "And then was Lilith too, but you saw that"

Sabrina nodded, the memory still made her furious. Lilith had promised her to take care of Nick and instead had made him a sort of plaything.

"Nick… I'm so sorry" she caressed his cheek, she didn't know what to say, what to do "Tell me what I can do for you"

"Stay" he asked "Stay with me… please"

"I won't ever leave you" she promised "I love you… and now that I have you back I won't let you go. Never"

Nick gave her a sad smile and she couldn't do anything but kiss him.

This kiss was different from the other, it was soft and slow and she poured everything she felt for him in it. She wanted to tell him that everything was fine, that she understood him. That he was safe, loved, wanted.

At first, Nick's answer was hesitant, he still was ashamed from his recent outburst, he didn't want to treat her badly. He didn't want to talk to her in such harsh way. But he did.

"Please, forgive me…" he said between kisses.

Sabrina separated from him, her hand brushed his cheek and he leaned towards her touch.

"There is nothing to forgive" she told him before kissing him again.

She buried her hands on his hair attracting him to her even more, she liked the softness and thickness of his hair. He let out a moan when she deepened the kiss.

Sabrina felt it, the need, the desire, all contained in one kiss.

And couldn't do anything but surrender to her own need.

His hands went to her waist holding her against his body and she let him. They were so close, but she wanted to be even closer to him.

She broke the kiss suddenly. Nick looked at her confused, she dedicated him a gaze so intense, so full of love that left him breathless. Looking into his dark eyes she took a decision. Sabrina wanted to tell him so many things but didn't know how to start, she didn't know if words could be enough.

With her hands still buried in his curly hair, she pulled him to her while she leaned back to the ground, she opened her legs to nestled him with her body.

They were feverish now, their lips fighting for dominance, their hands looking for skin to touch.

Nick descended upon her neck and she moaned when he peppered soft kisses in it.

"We… we should stop" he said reluctantly against the skin of her neck. She shivered.

"Don't" she told him "I'm… I'm ready, Nick. I want this. I want you"

"Sabrina… are you sure?"

She didn't answer. She captured his lips with hers stopping any possible argument.

"I love you, Nick" she told him against his lips "I love you so much"

"I love you too" he caressed her cheek as if she were made of porcelain. He wanted this but didn't want to push her if she wasn't sure "You have no idea how much I love you. How much I want you"

"I love you" she repeated before kissing him again "and I need you, Nick"

He looked straight into her eyes, what he saw made him realized that she meant it. She really wanted him.

He kissed her one more time.

She hands move under his shirt, touching his warm skin, feeling his muscles move under her fingertips. She tried to take his shirt off and he let her. Nick tossed it over his shoulder.

He started to unbutton her blouse slowly, he kissed the newly uncovered skin and she let out a sigh. When his lips replaced his hands and went to her clavicle she moaned. The pleasure she felt was something so new, so beautiful that left her breathless.

"Don't stop, please, don't stop" she begged him.

"I won't" he promised with his lips against her skin.

Sabrina arched her back when his lips found her breast. He lifted his eyes towards her and she smiled at him, she buried her hands in his hair again, telling him without words what she needed.

Without warning she rolled over him so now she was straddling him. Sabrina smiled at Nick in a mischievous way.

"My turn" she told him before kissing him.

She had missed this. She had missed him.

She kissed his jaw, his neck.

There was no one else in the world except them and this moment. The world could end and Sabrina couldn't care, all she could think was on Nick. Nick with his hands on her body, Nick with his mouth against hers.


End file.
